Aptos Junior High School

Summer is almost upon us. The long, lazy days, vacations, family trips, summer camps, sleeping in late and everything else that comes with summertime. After everyone has enjoyed the first few weeks, caught up on their relaxation and realized that sometimes the day is just to long, it is time to get back to work. What you say? Work, yes the work of being ready for school in August. I know what you are thinking…he is just saying that because he is the principal, well sort of, but I do believe it in my personal life as well. Just ask my two kids who have a principal for a dad and a teacher for a mom.

During the summer it is important to maintain your childs academic skills and rhythm. This means that they should be hitting the books for a few hours each week. Preferably about an hour a day would be great.

Here is what I am not saying: you do not need to have them sit down at the table and do homework for an hour each day…that is horrible, although it has been know to happen in the Saxton household. What I am saying is that for an hour a day they should be engaged in some sort of academic learning type of activity.
Here are some examples for you.
1. Flash cards are great for car rides-multipication, states, periodic table and anything else you can think of.
2. The most 100 common misspelled words is always a great conversation starter.
3. Keep a journal-writing is excellent for the mind and they will keep up on their penmanship
4. Read a book-no comics or magazines but a real book. The local library has tons of them
5. Take a nature hike and take pictures then identify them online or with a field guide
6. Do that dreaded workbook to keep up on grade level specific skills
7. Attend a learning academy during summer. Many colleges offer “learning academies’ for students.
8. Have a conversation surrounding politics, sports, lifestyle-these help children with their critical thinking skills
9. Do a puzzle-fun and challenging-also works on problem solving skills
10. Play a board game such as scrabble, rumikub, risk or even yahtzee. These games work on spelling, math patterns and critical thinking.

So there you have it, 10 ways to keep learning during the summer. Hopefully you will work your way through all 10.
Don’t forget there are only 22 days left till you can start working your way through the list.

Have a great end of the school year,
Brian